Get Well Soon
by Tracy-Lou
Summary: Ste isn't very well and Brendan decides to take care of him.


Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to Hollyoaks!

A/N: I couldn't resist writing for this couple, their chemistry is just amazing.

Summary: Ste isn't very well and Brendan decides to take care of him.

Get Well Soon

When Ste woke up that morning, he raised himself in the bed and then immediately had to lay back down again, his hand thrown across his eyes.

"What's wrong, babe?" Rae asked sleepily from beside him.

Ste glanced at her and rubbed tiredly at his eyes.

"Nothin'... I think. Just felt a bit light-headed that's all"

Rae opened her eyes fully and sat up in bed, looking concerned. It made Ste's stomach churn.

"Maybe you shouldn't go to work today" she suggested, putting her hand on Ste's forehead gingerly.

"I'm fine" Ste said a little abruptly, jerking away from her touch. Rae frowned in response, making Ste feel even worse. "Sorry" he mumbled. "Just not feeling like myself". He rubbed at his eyes again and attempted to sit up successfully this time.

"It's okay. Just…come home if you don't feel any better. I'm sure Brendan won't mind" Rae said gently.

Ste groaned and sank backwards again onto his pillow. Any mention of Brendan; especially from Rae, made Ste's heart start to palpitate and his hands to sweat.

He felt Rae rise from the bed. "I'm gonna take a shower, okay? Want to join me?" She asked with a shy smile, as though unsure of Ste's mood.

"I'll join you in a sec" Ste agreed, making Rae smile. When she had left the room however, he frowned and groaned inwardly. Somehow he knew today was going to be one of those days.

Ste felt a little more refreshed after the shower but he still wasn't feeling great. Rae made him some toast but he was unable to swallow a bite. He wasn't sure if it was because he was unwell, or because he was nervous about seeing Brendan again today. Things had cooled off between them lately and he was unsure of where he stood. Then again, he never did know where he stood with Brendan.

He walked slowly to the club, dragging his feet. He didn't care if he was late. A strange gloom seemed to be hanging over him today which he was unable to shift. He arrived in the club at about 9.05am, ready to arrange the stock in time for the lunchtime rush. Entering the staff room and zipping up his Chez Chez black jumper, Ste headed into the bar and began cleaning away empty bottles from the night before. He still felt light-headed and slightly out of it but he chose to ignore it and attempted to focus on the job at hand.

Unfortunately for him, however, he heard footsteps behind him. He opted to not turn around, hopefully it was only Cheryl.

"You're late" A sultry voice intoned. That voice burned inside Ste and he closed his eyes at the sensation. He was used to Brendan's voice alone doing unspeakable things to him but right now he couldn't really deal with it.

"Sorry" he mumbled, attempting to move past Brendan to put the empty bottles in the recycling. Brendan stepped in front of him to obscure his way.

"Something wrong, Stephen?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ste couldn't tell if he sounded interested or not, he never could tell.

"Nothin'" Ste tried to move past him again but Brendan merely leaned in closer.

"Where's the fire?" He asked his face inches away from Ste's, as always.

It was so frustrating to be so close to him and yet unable to kiss him. Ste had learnt the hard way that that would be a dire mistake.

"No where" Ste responded, starting to sweat.

Brendan's eyes flickered for a moment with an unreadable emotion but it was gone so quickly that Ste thought he must have imagined it, or perhaps he was delusional with sickness.

"You don't look so good" Brendan observed, sounding mildly amused. "Rae keeping you up all night?" Ste wished he could sound at least mildly bothered.

"No, shut up. I just wanna be left alone" Ste's vision was starting to flicker and the sweating was getting worse by the minute. He didn't want Brendan to see him looking so vulnerable. If he could just make it out the back…

"Well, Stephen that's a bit tricky isn't it? You're a barman you see…pretty hard to be left alone, eh?"

"Yeah, whatever" Ste could barely stand now; his limbs were starting to feel lifeless. His body felt as though it was on fire. "Look, Brendan. Just let me pass, okay?" His voice started to shake. That must have given Brendan pause because he raised his eyebrows again and made the way clear for Ste to pass, looking mildly amused still.

He wasn't amused for long however. Ste took one step and felt his vision go black…

When Ste opened his eyes again he was aware of the fact that he was lying in a bed somewhere, he just didn't know where. His vision was still a little blurry so he blinked a few times in order to clear it. When he could see properly, he realised that he was in Brendan's bedroom. Alarmed, Ste started to raise himself from the bed.

"Woah! Steady on" A hand restrained him, pushing him gently back onto the bed.

"Brendan?" Ste asked confusedly.

"The one and only" Brendan smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Gave us quite a scare there, Stephen. Collapsing like that"

"Gave who a scare? It was only you in the room"

Brendan looked uncomfortable and mumbled something indiscernible. Instead of answering, he questioned Ste instead.

"How long…ah…were you feeling unwell?"

"Since this morning" Ste replied, closing his eyes. The light hurt too much. Brendan seemed to read his expression and hastily dimmed the lights.

"Better?" There was a soft tone to his voice that Ste rarely heard. It almost made him smile.

"Yeah, thanks. What time is it?"

Brendan checked his watch. "Almost two"

"Two? Was I really out of it for that long?"

"You woke up a few times, mumbling things. You were pretty out of it though"

"I don't even remember…"

"Hmm"

Ste's eyes snapped open suddenly. "The kids! I've been here for hours! I have to go pick them up!" He attempted to sit up again but Brendan prevented him.

"Shh, don't worry yourself, Stephen. Rae's taking care of the kids. I told her I'd keep you here; stop the rest of the family getting ill"

Ste looked at Brendan suspiciously. "You spoke to Rae?"

"Yep"

"And she just agreed to let me stay here?"

"Pretty much"

Ste frowned and then asked another question. "I'm staying here?" He tried not to sound too hopeful.

"Till your better, yeah"

"Oh, right. Well thanks, Bren" Ste relaxed again and began to feel drowsy. "So tired" he mumbled, barely holding on to consciousness.

"Sleep" Brendan said softly, brushing a stray hair away from Ste's face. Ste smiled and felt himself drift off to sleep.

Ste awoke again to the sound of two hushed voices. His eyes opened slowly, he was still feeling pretty rough. The two voices stopped abruptly when they saw he was awake.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Ste" Cheryl said happily, rushing over to him and perching on the edge of the bed. Brendan remained lingering by the doorway. "Our Brendan was so worried about you" she added, smiling in Brendan's direction.

"Now, now, Sis. Don't exaggerate…" Brendan warned, his lips twitching into what he attempted to make a smile.

"Who's exaggerating? I came into the bar with you laying there on the floor, Ste and Brendan bending over you. I didn't know what to think… Then Brendan lifted you up in his arms and carried you all the way here, wouldn't let anyone else touch you" Cheryl smiled admiringly at Brendan.

"Really?" Ste was amazed, and deeply touched. He felt a warm fluttering in his chest at the thought of Brendan carrying him here like that, concerned for him.

"It was nothing" Brendan muttered, running a hand through his hair and looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"My brother, so modest" Cheryl said with a grin. "Well, I'd better get back to the club. You coming, Bren?"

Brendan hesitated and shot a quick glance at Ste. Cheryl, perceptive for once, noticed this and laughed. "He'll be fine for a few hours! He can always call if there's a problem". Cheryl walked out of the room but Brendan remained, looking at Ste with a dangerous expression across his face.

Ste was tempted to ask why Brendan was suddenly being so caring towards him but he knew how those sorts of questions normally went down. Brendan answered for him however when he moved slowly towards the bed, his eyes never leaving Ste's.

"Don't read too much into it" he said so quietly Ste wondered if he had heard him right. Brendan put his hand against Ste's cheek briefly and then departed the bedroom swiftly. Ste let out a long breath and closed his eyes again. This time he wasn't so sure he'd be able to sleep.

Several excruciating hours later, Brendan returned home. It had been a terrible night. He'd shouted and raged at both customers and staff, had broken so many glasses he'd lost count (on account of his shaking hands) and try as he might he couldn't get the image of Stephen out of his head, laying there in his bed so helpless.

It wasn't like Brendan to get so worked up like this. Sure, when his kids were unwell he worried constantly about them, even for the smallest sniffle. But with Stephen it was different. Perhaps it was because seeing him in pain like that brought back memories of when he himself had caused him pain. Images flooded Brendan's mind of cracked ribs and escaped tears; images he could never retract or make up for.

He almost felt as though having Stephen here was a way for him to make up for what he had done. Some things were simply unforgivable however. His dark musings were cut short when he heard a low groan from upstairs. Hastily running up the stairs, Brendan burst into his bedroom, expecting the worst.

"What's wrong?" He asked hastily, forgetting to hide behind the indifferent veil he normally wore clouded over his expression.

"Been sick again" Stephen responded weakly, his head over the bucket Cheryl had left for him.

Brendan sighed in relief and sat on the bed beside Stephen, rubbing his back in soothing circles.

"Better out than in" he said, with a chuckle. It was nice to see Stephen smile.

"Yeah" Stephen agreed. "Sorry about this…" he looked embarrassed, gesturing towards the sick bucket.

Ignoring the smell, Brendan shrugged and took the bucket out of Stephen's hands, taking it into the bathroom to clean it out. When he came back he'd brought a flannel for Stephen to clean himself up with.

"Thanks" Stephen said, taking the flannel from him. "Silly question but have you got any gum?"

Brendan smirked and reached into his jeans pocket, taking out a piece of gum.

"Not good for your teeth, Stephen"

Stephen laughed lightly. "You're one to talk" he popped the gum in his mouth and began to chew. "That's better" he sighed and leaned back on the pillows that he had placed upright. He closed his eyes contentedly. Brendan shuffled closer beside him, suddenly feeling as though it was important to be close to him, although he couldn't say why.

"How was work?" Stephen asked.

"Uneventful" Brendan replied dryly, untruthfully.

"Did you miss me?" Stephen asked jokingly, opening his eyes and seeming startled by Brendan's close proximity.

Brendan couldn't resist teasing him. "Naw, got much more done without you, mate". He smiled though to show he was only teasing.

Stephen smirked and replied teasingly back. "I wonder why". Brendan loved it when he was being daring. Well, sometimes.

The mood changed swiftly. Brendan couldn't keep his eyes off of Stephen's lips. Stephen swallowed thickly, practically humming with anticipation. They both started to lean in closer to each other. Brendan didn't care one bit that Stephen had been sick only moments before; he wanted him, now and always.

Their lips were inches apart; Brendan decided to allow Stephen to close the distance between them for a change. The kiss was sweet, and tender. Brendan was more gentle than normal because he was anxious of Stephen being ill. He cupped his hand against Stephen's cheek, drawing him in closer. When the kiss ended, Brendan was disappointed. He knew it would be foolish to take it any further tonight so he stripped to his boxers and climbed into the bed beside Stephen, ignoring the inflatable bed Cheryl had left out for him.

Stephen seemed surprised and his eyelids were beginning to droop. He opened his mouth as though about to say something but Brendan put a finger over his lips and smiled. They both snuggled into the covers, lying side by side but not touching. Brendan suddenly felt too vulnerable and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself lashing out. Stephen seemed to anticipate his mood however and let him be.

A few minutes later and Brendan felt Stephen shaking but trying to hide it. He sighed.

"What's the matter, Stephen?"

"I'm a bit cold"

Brendan huffed out a short laugh.

"Well, come here then"

Stephen shuffled closer to Brendan but hesitated, unsure of where to position himself in a manner that Brendan would approve of. Brendan was tired though, and for once he just wanted to give in to his feelings instead of trying to hide them. He opened his arms for Stephen to easily slot in to and he did so gratefully, his blond head tucked securely under Brendan's chin.

"Better?" Brendan asked gruffly.

"Much" Stephen replied, sounding exceedingly happy.

Brendan smiled. "Good". He hugged Stephen tighter to himself. For one night he just wanted to feel him there, solid and real. He wanted to hold him and never let go. He knew that by tomorrow he would feel threatened again, but he really hoped that he could contain it this time. He was getting better, he hoped. Stephen was making him a better man every day. Sighing again, Brendan kissed the top of Stephen's head; the poor lad was already fast asleep.

"Love yer" he said quietly. Whether Stephen heard or not he didn't know, or care. He merely drew him in closer, shut his eyes and slept. For once he felt perfectly content.


End file.
